When you think of the heroes of our NHS we inevitably think of our amazing doctors, nurses and staff saving lives on a daily basis.

But in Gloucestershire's hospitals there is also a vital team to help patients, visitors and staff through some of the hardest times you can imagine.

The chaplains at Gloucestershire Royal are unsung heroes of our health service - helping people through the shock of bereavement or bad news about their health, answering difficult questions about religion and faith and giving people much-needed advice and support.

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"If someone has died they might not have any Christian faith. I have to help them explore the value that person had to them and still has to them, and talk about how they will remember and value them in the future, how they are going to build their lives without that person."

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Atique said he is quick to make sure people in distress they don't blame themselves or think of themselves as deserving of some kind of punishment.

He said: "It's not necessarily whether someone has faith or not but whether someone has some sort of spirituality about them - that's what's important. It's important to tap into that.

"I try to remind them they have got a life and they will hopefully get back to it."

'People move on too quickly and don't properly grieve'

John, who was a church minister for 30 years, says the toughest part of the job is dealing with untimely death - and it is the chaplains' job to create emotional and spiritual space so they can evaluate and reflect.

He said: "Because people have given up organised religion in a big way when they are confronted by death there's a lack of resources to deal with it. People move on too quickly and they don't properly grieve.

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"It's the cause of far more problems than we give it credit for. People don't spend enough time stopping and reflecting on what their values are, where their lives are going.

"People arrive in hospital and they are taken out of the lives they were expecting or planning. All the things that make up their lives just stop. It's a time when people are forced to reflect on what's important to them."

Hospital chaplains John Thompson and Atique Miah.

"That feeling of 'why me' just grows," said Atique, who used to be a chaplain at the University of Gloucestershire. "In that time they are going to have a lot of questions.

"When they have someone like the chaplains come along they are going to talk about the real things."

John said there is no such thing as a typical day in the life of a hospital chaplain.

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He said: "It's the most unpredictable job you could ever have. We're called upon by people right across the hospital - very often in extreme circumstances.

"There are days when I'm walking into hospital and my pager's gone 'some one has died in A&E' or 'someone is close to death and they want support.'

"On another day you can have a coffee and have a peaceful start to the day."

Hospital chaplains John Thompson and Atique Miah.

A big part of Atique's job is to support Muslim patients and staff, but also provide spiritual guidance to people of all backgrounds.

He said: "There are quite a lot of Muslim patients in hospitals and they have certain requirements.

"With most Muslim patients they tend to have more family members visiting. Staff are not always geared up for so many people - especially at a time when it's end of life. I'm there to reassure staff this is normal Muslim behaviour.

"Families are close-knit, and if anyone in the community is in hospital it's recommended that you go in and see them, whether they are related to you or not.

"It's about understanding the culture and knowing that this is normal. Most staff are on the ball, but sometimes they need a little bit of guidance."

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Atique, who has worked at the hospital for four months, recently gave one grieving family the direction of Mecca so they could pray.

He also often acts as a translator - he can speak Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and basic Arabic.

Atique also give guidance to patients worried about saying their prayers. Muslims have to pray twice during the day and three times during the night but sometimes that can be difficult if they have serious conditions.

He said: "If they are incapacitated then they are exempt, but sometimes they are not aware. Those that are devout don't realise that they are exempt. They will insist on having to do their prayers - some people are very strict with themselves. I'm there to explain it to them.

"Most people don't really practice five times per day. The ones that do are very firm in their conviction in wanting to pray."

John said the life of a hospital chaplain is a very rewarding one.

He said: "It's very fulfilling that you know at the end of the day that you've made a difference to people's lives.

"It really does make a big difference knowing you have had an impact on someone's road to recovery."